The Thief and the Bird
by LivinJgrl123
Summary: They're not supposed to be together, right? That's what you think. *a collection of one-shots* *COMPLETE*
1. He Saved My Life

**I am reposting all these one-shots into one big story that is still going on. Once this is up to date the one-shots will be deleted.**

* * *

Raven found herself shivering in the darkness. She detested extreme temperatures. They just didn't suit her. She was not blind to the darkness around her, though. As she dashed through hallways that had been darkened only moments ago, she felt the temperature drop more and more until her breath came out in large clouds. She scowled, her face stoic.

Why was it so cold here, underground?

The rest of the titans weren't with her. She was by herself.

She knew he was here, he was always here somewhere, doing this or that.

Red X would not get away so easily from her in the darkness.

Though she concentrated, she could not indicate any signs of life. This irritated her, because she _knew_ he was here. She could feel it in her bones, if bones could feel anything but pain.

She halted, listening as she had been about to round a corner when she heard soft footsteps. She didn't hesitate. She sprang at him, knowing where he was in the darkness, knocking him to the ground, kicking whatever he had tried to steal in this underground laboratory out of his arms. It was thick and heavy, but she didn't have time to examine it now.

"Didn't think you'd show," Red X laughed as he used a small explosive to send her flying against the wall of the metal hallway. She rose to her feet and began chanting, but was cut off by a sharp blow to the back of the head. She slumped against the wall, whatever vision she'd had in the darkness was blurry.

"So close," he said. She could feel his breath on her face and restrained herself from using her energy to send him three floors down into icy, winding hallways. It would hurt him, yes, but it would satisfy her need to prove that he wasn't the best. "Yet so far."

She struggled to stand, but she was too dizzy. She glared at the masked thief in front of her. "You'll pay." she said, her face stoic.

"I'm sure I will," he said, smirking in the dark, "but not any time soon I'm afraid."

She knew he was walking away from her because she suddenly felt colder.

She scowled. So he was going to leave her here to freeze to death underground, where her none of her teammates knew of her location? She had expected something like this, but it wasn't comforting to know that she was going to die with a throbbing headache.

"Oh, and by the way," she heard him say, and he was suddenly lifting her off the ground and was carrying her. She struggled, chanting threats, but her powers didn't work, not with her chilled, weakened state. "I don't think it's a gentlemen-thing to leave a girl out in the cold."

She actually snorted at this. She stopped struggling, realizing he was helping her.

Red X? Helping her, of all people?

This was ridiculous.

She lost track of how many corners they turned and how many stairs they climbed, and when she felt a rush of warm, fresh air hit her, she managed to shove him away and land on her feet, finally free of the cold.

"You didn't have to do that," she said, watching him carefully, readjusting her cloak so it shielded her eyes. It had come down, revealing her face, when he had carried her. She owed him now.

"You're right," he said, walking closer to her. She took a step back, glaring. "I didn't."

"Then why did you?"

"Because it would be a shame to have someone as pretty as you die to something as little as frostbite."

Raven's glare intensified, and she somehow managed to hold back a surge of anger.

"I was complimenting you," he laughed, and began walking away.

When he was almost out of sight, almost disappearing into the wooded area in which the laboratory was stationed, she called out reluctantly, "Thanks for saving my life."

He stopped, and she wanted to take her words back.

He turned around and saluted her, and her face tinged pink.

Why pink?

He walked away, leaving Raven fuming.

Debts weren't good.

Being in debt wasn't good, either.

Owing Red X was even worse.


	2. My Visitor

Raven was meditating on the roof. It was cold out; it had just snowed, but she didn't care. Meditation blocked out everything when silence washed over her. There were no bad guys just begging to get their butts kicked. There was no yelling from Beast Boy and Cyborg about meals. There was no obsessed Robin sitting in front of a screen working tirelessly. There was no Starfire tying to figure out how the microwave worked.

They were all sound asleep, and Raven was on the roof. It was New Year's Day: it was almost two hours into it. The fireworks were still going, much to her annoyance, but they were far away enough that she could block them out, just like she could block everything else in the world at right then.

Well, almost everything.

A crackling sound snapped her out of her peaceful state and her eyes narrowed when she saw none other than Red X standing in front of her, arms crossed, not looking for a fight.

"What do you want?" she asked, not putting her feet on the ground, merely glaring. She very much wanted to slam him through the concrete of the building all the way down to the first floor. Again. She almost smiled at the thought of the time he'd need to recover from all those injuries.

But she just kept herself in her meditating position, looking annoyed, almost frowning.

"I just came to say hello," he said. Of course, she could hear his smirk. Everyone always could.

"Why don't go annoy Robin, or perhaps talk with Starfire? I'm sure they'd be happy to see you."

He shook his head. "Those two are the same thing."

She rolled her eyes.

"I came because I felt like it," he said.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, I suggest you go before you get a few bones broken." She landed on her feet and raised her hands, ready to start chanting, but he cut her off before she could send him flying off the roof and hopefully into a deep, dark pit where she would never see him again.

"Ah, not so fast," he said, and with a lightning quick move her grabbed her arm, flipped over her, and shoved it up her back, causing her to cry out in pain. He was fast, faster than Robin sometimes. She gritted her teeth as he chuckled.

"Can't a guy talk for just a minutes without getting a few scrapes?" he asked her.

"When that guy is you, yes," she said. "Now what is it that you want?"

"Told you," he said, "I just want to talk."

To her surprise, he released her. She leapt away from him, and then turned, seeing him relax, and dropped her hands, her chant still ready in her throat. All it took was a few words, and he would be gone, and she could go back to meditating.

She resumed her position, and suddenly realized that her hood had been pulled down in their brief struggle. Aggravated, she pulled it over her eyes again, so her face was in shadow. It felt so much better with it on. She felt like she could hind behind it...but wasn't that cowardly? No, she decided, it would have to stay on.

"My, someone's trusting today," X commented.

"My, someone's begging to have his head bashed into God-knows-how-many floors of concrete and glass today," she replied, closing her eyes, trying to restrain herself form doing _just that_. The Titans wouldn't like to be woken up to that, she guessed. She should be fighting him though. She should be letting the others know that he was there, on the roof of their home. But she didn't do anything of the sort.

Red X laughed.

"Now, please tell me what you're after—"

"You're impatient today, aren't you?" he chuckled, and her expression darkened considerably. "Alright," he said slowly, "but only if you promise not to tell your friends."

Raven kept silent, but hearing no protests, he said, "I'm pretty sure I like you."

She blinked, her eyes flying open to find...

_Not_ Red X standing in front of her.

Her eyes widened, her dark look replaced by one that belonged to pure shock. Her mouth hung open.

There was a boy no older than Robin in front of her, without his mask on. He had the same hair, the same features. But he had brilliant green eyes that locked onto hers, and she, for once, lost her stoic mask completely.

Not to mention that he was pretty cute, too.

"Uh..." was all that came from her. He was indeed smirking at her.

He laughed again. "Wow, I expected you to do something: you know, like punch me."

She shook her head. Why had he revealed his face to her, of all people? And...about the whole like-thing...she wasn't totally comfortable with it.

But it wasn't... a bad thing, not to her, anyways.

Maybe just a tad annoying, though.

"Why did you do that?" she asked him in a flat tone, trying to regain her stoic expression, and succeeding in seconds. He didn't seem surprised, though: he'd seen the shock on her face. His only question was, why did she bother to hide it?

"Oh, you know, I'm full of surprises," he laughed. "My name is also Jason."

Her eyes widened, and she let her feet touch the ground. Did he know he was compromising himself? Raven had imagined that she'd see this hero have a moment of complete idiocy. Maybe it wasn't; maybe he had something else in mind.

She sensed no lies when she tried to grasp if he was telling her the truth or not concerning her identity. This surprised her even more.

What was he up to?

"Jason..." now that she looked at him, without his mask, his name suited him. "...so..."

"Right," he said, his smirk widening. "So, Raven, you know my name, and my face. Now there's only one thing left to do."

Before Raven could move, she felt his lips crashing against hers, and she relaxed, just as he pulled away.

"Knew it," he said.

She cursed under her breath. This wasn't normal... she should be yelling for her teammates, trying to kill him and rid the world of his aggravating existence.

A blush crept onto Raven's unhealthily pale cheeks. She had enjoyed that kiss.

Jason's smirk grew in triumph as he turned to leave.

"See you around."


	3. Our Staring Contest

Red X and Raven sat across from each other, glaring. No, not just glaring.

Staring.

He was standing on the ledge of the Tower, and she was floating to match his height. Her violet eyes were trained on his bright green ones.

Whoever one got to make the first move...whether if that was to fight, alone, without the others, or to do something else.

Raven really just wanted to fight.

She didn't want to know what Jason Todd had in mind.

When her eye twitched, a smirk grew slowly on his face, and he began walking very slowly towards her, not looking away. The half-demon's heartbeat was erratic as he stood underneath her. She dropped to the ground gracefully, maintaining her gaze with his own.

He leaned forward, raising a hand to her cheek, and she gasped.

And blinked.

He chuckled with victory rolling off of him in waves as he suddenly pressed his mouth to hers, and she didn't have time to pull away.

They just stood like that for a few long seconds before he pulled away.

A slow, steady blush climbed her cheeks, and not for the first time. She glared at him, pulling up her hood.

"See you around," he said, but instead of disappearing, he grabbed her arm and pulled her in for one last kiss.

And she kissed back this time.

He pulled away, smirking, eyes gloating at her defeat, and teleported away.

Raven hated it when she lost to Jason; he always seemed to win.


	4. I Left Myself Alone

Raven sat in the living room of the Tower, the eerie silence haunting. The rest of the Titans were out celebrating some victory that they'd had that day. They hadn't thought to ask Raven what she wanted to do; instead they'd just left her a note saying that they would be giving some sort of speech to the city and had left while she was healing the nasty wounds she'd acquired earlier in the day.

Raven couldn't blame them, though. Normally, she would refuse and tell them that she would rather stay in the Tower, sip herbal tea, and read some ancient text.

Today had not been one of those days, though. She sighed sadly, and stood up, and began floating. They had forgotten about her; but it was mostly her doing. She kept telling herself that she should have piped up and just went with them to give their public speech. Besides, she thought as she headed towards the roof, it wasn't as if anyone would miss her anytime soon. She was the only one who didn't get fan mail, the only one who wasn't being screamed at by adoring people when she was in battle.

She tried to tell herself it was better that way, but deep down, she knew she wanted at least some recognition for the things she'd done, the people she'd saved.

She began meditating on the roof, her hood up, sadness clear on her face. If anyone were here to see it, they would know something was wrong. Luckily, she was alone.

Or that's what she thought.

A sharp crackling noise snapped her out of her trance-like state and she fell to the ground. Grumbling, she picked herself up and found herself face to face with a grinning Jason Todd, also known as Red X. She was the only one who knew his hame, his face, his identity.

Instead of readying herself for a fight, she merely gave him a sad look and turned her back on him, and tried to resume meditating, which shocked him for only a moment. Raven was never sad. Anti-social, moody, yes, but never sad.

"Something wrong?" Jason asked her. His voice was no longer synthesized because he wasn't wearing his mask tonight, and it was a little deeper than Robin's.

"No." Her voice was sharp and emotionless, but Jason knew that she was lying to him.

"You should tell me," he suggested, smirking as he stood to her left. He couldn't see her face because of her hood, but he knew she still wore that sad, dejected look. It bothered him to know that she wasn't wearing her usual stoic mask tonight, like she did every night and every day. He'd seen the Titans earlier in person, without his mask, of course, and had noticed her absence. He'd taken it as a personal choice from her to not go, whether just because she didn't want to or that she was in a healing process.

Jason wondered how often the Titans did this.

"Why should I?" she asked him.

"Because I might do something like this," he said. Grabbing her arm, he yanked her onto the ground, making her lose her ever-perfect balance for only a second, righted her on her feet by gripping her wrists, and kissed her.

Raven, at first, was stunned, as she always was when he kissed her. He pulled away before she could do anything about it, and his smirk grew when the sadness in her eyes dissolved, and her stoic expression was back in place.

"See, you should have just told me, then I wouldn't have had to kiss you," he said smugly.

She glared at him. "It is none of your concern."

"It is if I make it my concern."

"You don't give up, do you?" she shook her head and sighed. "I don't know how to say it."

Jason slowly removed her hood and was shocked, for the second time that night, to see sadness cracking her oh-so-perfect mask. How long has she been like this? he asked himself. And were her teammates even aware she felt like this? Probably not, seeing as how she wasn't with them receiving praise from Jump City. He'd let go of her, but she didn't step away. Raven was known, if not for her black magic, for wanting her personal space. You got your butt kicked when you invaded her personal space, and she certainly wasn't going to attack him any time soon.

"You're upset," he tried. She nodded, and looked at the ground. He frowned. "You're depressed?"

She looked up at him sharply.

"Okay, how about lonely?" she opened her mouth to protest, to tell him she desired solitude and silence, to tell him she was fine and just pitying herself for not being able to communicate with the Titans, to tell him that this was her choice.

Raven only snapped it shut, though, and turned away from him.

Jason reached out and took her hand, and she stiffened, but didn't yank her arm away. "Look," he said, "I'm willing to hang around...if you want me to."

Raven turned to face him, and was surprised to see such honesty not on his face, but in his brilliant green eyes. Before she could stop herself, she found herself saying, "if you want to." With that, she headed towards the door that would lead her back inside.

"Oh, no you don't," Jason said, pulling her back to him. She opened her mouth to protest, but he took this chance to kiss her.

And kiss her.

And kiss her.

When he pulled away, her face was scarlet. Smirking, he began pulling her towards the door. "Come on," he said, "let's find something to do."

Raven allowed herself to be pulled inside the Tower by her enemy, her lips tingling, her head spinning.

Silently, she thanked him for being so kind to her, and for once, was glad that her enemy had come around when the others were not.

Maybe it was even safe to say that she enjoyed when he kissed her.


	5. I'll Say Thanks

"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos!" Raven shouted, and Dr. Light was being bunched up in black magic, and the day was saved yet again.

Raven dropped him into the police cruiser and disappeared with a muttered "I'm going to meditate" to Robin before stepping into a portal and finding herself on the roof. The sun was setting, and it was autumn again. Spring and autumn were perfect; they were never too cold, never too hot. She smiled as a cool breeze rustled her cloak as she closed her eyes and began to fall back into the place in her mind, that peaceful quiet place where she could just relax and sort things out—

"You know, when you do this meditation thing, you look really cute."

Raven's eyes flew open and she momentarily glared at Red X, unmasked with his disheveled dark hair hanging in his eyes and his brilliant green eyes laughing while he himself was smirking. While her face was in shadow, she was blushing madly. She did not put her feet on the ground.

"I should be calling Robin." Raven said, lowering her hood, making Jason's eyes dance with amusement. She shook her head, thankful that the blush had worn off and that she had replaced her expression with a stoic mask that had been recently broken, unbeknownst to her friends, to the five people she called family.

"But you're not."

"I should be trying to kick you into next week."

"You're not doing that."

"I should be putting you in a cell that only Batman knows how to open."

An eyebrow went up. "And that means...?"

Raven sighed, rolling her eyes, and put her feet on the ground. "You tell me."

"Oh, I'm not going to tell you," he grinned, reaching for her arm. She darted away from him, smirking. His eyes widened in further amusement, if that were even possible. "Oh, we're playing tag, are we?"

She shook her head, flying above him. "No, I'm not going to let you kiss me today."

"Is that your top priority on your to-do list?" he asked teasingly, his hands on his hips, mischief written all over his face. She gulped.

_No, _she thought, gaining altitude, _I was actually hoping you'd come around. _"One of them," she called down, and began to fly away.

A few minutes later, the sun had almost gone down, and Raven had landed on another rooftop, this one in the rich part of the city. She hated it here, but she was hoping Jason hadn't followed her.

She bit her lip when she heard a crackling sound behind her and before she could react she was being tackled to the ground, and a familiar laugh reached her ears.

"JASON!" she shouted as he stood up, looking smug, his smirk still on his face. He stared at her as she dusted herself off, scowling. "Don't sneak up on me!"

"You should have gone father, if you really want to avoid me," he said, and, catching her off guard, he took her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. She didn't flinch. She didn't struggle. She actually kissed him back.

This wasn't like any of the others they had shared before. It was sweeter, kinder, and she felt her insides melting. No one else had made her feel anywhere close to this. And she welcomed this feeling. When he pulled away her lips were burning and her fingertips were tingling with joy.

Joy.

He took a tiny step away from her, and his smirk grew impossibly wider as her cheeks turned from that unhealthy pale to a hilarious scarlet that did not suit her at all, yet made her all the more lovable.

Jason laughed. "So _kissing me_ was on your to-do list," he shook his head at her. "Liar, liar, liar. And where did _not_ kissing me come in? When your friends got home?" he chuckled when she tried to muster up a terrifying death-glare, and pretty much succeeded, but it didn't work on him.

"Never," she admitted finally, turning away from him, ready to go back to the tower. Even from here, she could hear the praise her friends were getting from saving Jump City yet again. She felt a sharp pang of sadness hit her hard and she bit her lip.

Jason caught her arm, stopping her from leaving. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Fine." Her voice was cold, emotionless, but it didn't bother him in the slightest. He slowly pulled her into a hug, that only lasted a few seconds, until she pulled away. He grinned. She glowered.

"I don't liked to be touched," she growled, but secretly and genuinely thankful for the hug. She'd needed it more than she'd thought, but she would never admit it to anyone, not to Robin, not to Starfire, not even to her own mother.

"Funny that you say that now," he said, "seeing as how you let me kiss you."

Raven rolled her eyes. But instead of saying what she usually would have said ("back off or you'll get shoved into three floors of solid concrete and dirt"), she kissed him lightly on the cheek, and smiled, just a little bit, her eyes revealing just a touch of sorrow and a hint of happiness.

"Thanks, Jason."


	6. On My Day Off

Raven sat in the library, her nose in a book. Jason was sitting across from her, his feet up on the table, a graphic novel in his hands. She glanced up at him every so often.

"Didn't know you spent time reading," she commented, aware that there was zero talking in the West Jump City Library, which was the biggest and oldest of them all.

"Didn't know you spent time caring," he retorted, flipping another page. She rolled her eyes.

"Care about what?"

His eyebrows shot up, and she blushed. He smirked triumphantly, but said nothing. More than once had they been shushed when arguements over what books they should read started. It was early evening, the rest of the Titans were having their one-day vacations, as Cyborg liked to call them. More like a day off, Robin had said before leaving them to their own devices.

"Fine," she grumbled, returning her eyes to her book.

"You should try reading fun stuff."

Raven's eyes met his, and she frowned. "Fun?" she asked.

"Yeah, instead of study for your end-of-the-universe exam or whatever," he smirked, "I mean, you read all the old stuff religiously."

"So?"

"Read something else," he said, "you remind me of someone who does homework 24/7."

Her eyes narrowed. He knew she hated homework. "Thankfully, I don't," she said.

"Does Robin know you're her?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Of course he does." What kind of question was that?

"With me?"

"No."

He chuckled. "Are you ever going to tel him that I kissed you the other night? Oh, wait, it wasn't _just _the other night," his smirk grew when her cheeks reddened, and she pulled up her hood to hide from him.

"Shut up."

"Oh, why don't you make me?"

She carefully set down her book, marking her place, and shut it.

"You don't ever shut up, do you?" she asked wearily, sighing, glancing at the clock. It was only seven. She had all night.

"No, but I how to make _you_ shut up." he waggled his eyebrows at her, and she was thankful for the hood.

Jason suddenly teleported out of his chair. She sat up straight as his book fell to the carpeted floor, but knew he was right behind her.

Raven opened her mouth to say something, but with one swift movement, he tilted her head back, making her hood fall off her head, and he kissed her.

It worked.

Jason pulled away, smirking, not moving away from her. "Told you so," he said, grabbing her hand, pulling her out of her chair. She grabbed her book, opened a tiny portal, and put it somewhere in her room, and let him toe her out.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"Well," he said, smirking even more as they pushed through the front doors, "we can't make out in public, now, can we?"

Raven's eyes widened.

"What?"


	7. They Can't Know

Raven was sitting in the living room, along with the other titans. Their TV was on, and they were waiting for something interesting to happen.

And something did.

Eventually, Red X found his way onto a news camera. It showed him robbing a back, and police apprehending him, or trying to.

Raven just sat there, like the others. They knew they were too tired to catch him, and frankly, Robin hadn't wanted to chase down someone whose goals included annoying him through Starfire.

Raven stared at the screen. Her hood was down, because she was among teammates. Beast Boy was sitting next to her, arguing with Cyborg about if Red X ought to get wiped off the face of the earth for good or not. She almost rolled her eyes when the camera lost sight of Jason.

How stupid were people these days? There were just some guys who didn't come willingly.

Raven sighed soundlessly, thinking of the most recent time she'd seen him: it had been her day off, and he had insisted that they get some "alone time" together. It had left her tingling for the next few days, much to her annoyance.

Her team couldn't know. He was a villain, she was a hero. It was simple as that.

Raven had been thinking over the past week about her feelings towards the annoyingly charming thief. Almost half the time she wanted to punch him, the rest of the time she wanted to kiss him.

She was able to make her own decisions about how she felt about things, wasn't she? She was certain that the tingling in her lips that appeared when he pulled away after kissing her and the butterflies in her stomach proved that she liked Jason as much as he liked her.

Robin would probably hate her for all eternity if she knew she'd let him kiss her so many times before and not try to murder him in response. Beast Boy and Cyborg would probably just brush it off after a while of interrogation. Starfire might be a little more understanding, but she didn't really know, or want to find out, for that matter.

She stood up, her eyelids drooping. Maybe she'd tell them one day, but for now, all she wanted to do was pretend that she hated him when around her friends and kiss him when she was alone with him.

Yeah, that was going to work out great.


	8. And Then The Truth Came Out

Raven was sitting on the couch, her nose buried in an ancient book, when she heard someone enter the room and stop in front of her. She raised her eyes, her face hidden underneath her hood, to see Robin. She narrowed her eyes, not shutting the book.

"Raven," he said, sitting a good ways away from her. Lately, she'd gotten more attached her her Personal Space Bubble, as Beast Boy called it. If you popped it, you risked getting thrown into another dimension or getting a dictionary slammed into your face. "We need to talk."

"About what?" she wanted to be left alone. She'd just gotten back from "a simple walk" and was not in the mood to speak to Robin or any of the other Titans. Jason was on her mind at the moments. She still hated that she had butterflies from earlier. He'd laughed at her, and she'd tried to punch him, and then they'd kissed, and then they talked.

"About your walks."

She slowly closed her book, the same on she'd been reading at the library only three weeks before now, and her attention was solely focused on Robin. "What about them?"

"I know they're not walks."

"You're right; I fly."

She noticed that he looked very, very mad and wondered if he had figured her out, figured out her big secret. The secret that would probably get Robin to hate her for the rest of time.

"Raven," he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know that isn't what you do, and you know what you're talking about."

Raven remained silent, waiting for him to go on, which made him frown.

"I know you're seeing Red X."

She was stunned only for a second before saying, "So?"

Robin blinked. "_So_?!" he repeated, furious. Rae, it's _Red X. _So you're not even denying it, huh?" Disappointment was clear in his eyes, anger was scrawled all over his face. His fists were clenched tight, ready to smash something. The sorceress stood up, scowling, turning to leave.

"I'm admitting it," she said, glaring at him.

"Then..." he stood up, too. "He's the enemy! God! I thought you'd be smarter than this, Rae, when I saw the security tapes..."

She whipped around to face him. "Since when did you put a security camera on the roof without telling us, Robin?" she seethed, hating the idea that he'd _seen_ her and Jason... "Did you see his face?"

"His face?" he shook his head, "no, I didn't; his back was always was turned to the camera. What's the meaning of this?"

Raven did not respond.

Robin glared at her, grabbing her wrist. She yanked her arm away. Inside, she was bubbling with rage.

"I saw how confused you were... and yet you kept seeing him. You let him kiss you, don't deny it."

"I'm not," she muttered. "Is it so hard for you to accept that I might _like_ him?" Thank God, she thought, her and Jason had spent more and more time away from the tower, usually on rooftops.

"Yes!" Robin was shouting now. "Raven, this is so stupid of you! You! Of all people, like him? Can't you see this is a trick? Don't you see that he's just getting into your head just so he can mess with you? Did you ever think of that, or did you just go along with him, knowing what's going to happen eventually."

Raven had had enough. She raised her hand, and muttered "Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos!" and Robin was being flung across the roof and against the wall. He picked himself up, ready to fight, only to be surprised to find Raven walking away from him, back rigid, fists clenched, hood up. "You can't tell me what to do," she said, heading for the roof, needing time alone. "You don't have a say in who I like."

"I do when you're dating a criminal!"

She whirled around and snapped, "we're not _dating_!"

"Then what _are_ you doing?"

Raven was at a loss for words, for only this once. Robin's glare intensified. "You don't _know_? Rae, tell me you know what you're doing here."

Defeat was evident in her posture. "I would normally lie to you and say I do, but I really don't." Raven actually felt bad about keeping it from her team leader, but she knew he would act like this, even if she had told him herself right away. It stung, though, to see him so angry and upset and betrayed. She briefly wondered how she would feel if another hero was liked a villain a little too much for their own good. She would have the same reaction on the inside as Robin, she guessed. But she wouldn't show it, not like him.

"Raven!" she began walking toward her. "Do you know what you're doing to this team? You're compromising us, giving him a way in! He'll be able to break in and steal whatever he wants as soon as you trust him enough to give him the codes because he kissed you on the cheek more than once and made you feel special."

This stung. She flinched, visibly.

Robin's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to apologize, but hurt had overtaken her and she would hear no more of what he had to say to her.

"But you forget about me so easily," she whispered, "you don't even ask me to come along with you to speeches. You just assume I'll be fine by myself."

His glare intensified yet again. "Speak up and we'll hear you, Raven, otherwise we can't help you."

"So you don't care."

"That isn't what I meant—"

"But it's what you implied!" she shouted, tears gathering behind her eyes. "You _assume_ that if I have a problem I'll tell you! You _assume_ what's best for me! You _assume_ what's best for all of us! You _assume_ that Red X is tricking me! You _assume_ that I'm being stupid! _Stop_ assuming and get your facts straight."

Raven, with these final words, turned on her heel, heading towards the roof, leaving a stunned Robin behind.

_I've had enough._


	9. Where'd I Go?

Robin was still standing in the living room when Cyborg came out with Beast Boy, arguing over who was going to make bacon or not, followed by a sleepy Starfire, who noticed right away something was off. He didn't like to fight with Raven, but this? This was unacceptable. This was suspicious. Why would she ever want to be kissed by Red X, of all people?

"Friend Robin?" she asked, touching his shoulder lightly. He looked at her, giving a sigh of defeat.

"Yeah?"

"We could not help but overhear your 'talk' with Raven. You said you would be nice to her. Was that 'nice'?"

Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately stopped arguing and stood by the alien. Yes, they had all seen the security tapes, but only Robin had been angry. Beast Boy was nonchalant about the whole mess, even if he did feel the slightest twinge of suspicion towards the face the Raven was letting a notorious thief kiss her. Cyborg didn't approve, but he wasn't about to yell at Raven they way Robin had just moments ago. Starfire just wanted everyone to be happy. It was easy to hear the hurt in Raven's voice. All the Titans felt a little guilty about leaving Raven out, but they all agreed, and they knew Raven would too, that she should have just come along or spoken her thoughts, something she didn't do often, but she did do it on occasion. She didn't even need an invite; she was a Titan. She could pretty much everything.

Falling for villains was one of the things Robin was going to allow her to do, though.

"Star, she left before I could apologize."

"Dude." Beast Boy shook his head. "That's why you run _after_ her. And no, Star, he wasn't all that nice." The other Titans had decided what to do and had elected Robin to speak to her. Yelling at her and treating her like a total child hadn't been their original idea.

"Don't we want her to be happy, though?" Starfire asked, looking sort of confused. "Do we not want Raven to be happy?"

"No, Star," Robin began, but Beast Boy interrupted.

"Dude, you had a point with the voicing-your-feelings thing and the fact that she never told us that she could be in love with Red X—"

"In _love_?" Robin gave him an incredulous look. Cyborg merely shook his head and left to start breakfast in the kitchen. He would intervene when things would get violent, but until then, he had his own opinions and wasn't about to voice them and cause more disagreements among his family.

"Well, we can't control who she likes and who she doesn't, can we?" Beast Boy asked, sounding annoyed. "How about we just talk to Rae and get this all sorted out?"

"Talk?" Robin glared down at the shorter Titans, who just sighed.

"Chill, dude," he muttered, heading for the kitchen.

Starfire looked sad. "Robin?"

"Yes, Starfire?" Robin wanted to go pound Red X's face in, because he still believed that the boy was still trying to just use Raven's feelings to get to the rest of the team.

"What... what if Raven is truly in love?"

Robin stiffened at the mere idea of that, but he said nothing,

"Friend Robin, do we want Friend Raven to be sad?"

"No," Robin said slowly, "I just think that he's trying to manipulate her because she's never felt this way about anyone, as far as I know."

Starfire nodded. "But what if he 'likes' her back, as you put it when you are too shy to say love?"

The Titan leader felt like pulling out his own hair by the roots. "I really don't think that's possible, Star. Why would he start caring now? I mean, they hate...used to...hate each other! Raven sincerely wanted to throw him in an unmarked grave somewhere and forget about his existence!"

"Maybe...he cared all along?" Starfire tried.

Robin's head snapped up. "I really doubt that."

"Is he incapable of liking, then?" Star's eyes were clouded with confusion; this was frustrating Robin because possibilities that seemed very unlikely were surfacing in his mind: images of a hurt, betrayed Raven entered his head.

"That isn't what I mean," he said, sitting down on the couch, resting his chin in his hand. Starfire remained standing. "He... has he ever given away anything that would indicate he has real _feelings_for Raven? I hate to admit it, but I know she isn't the world's favorite Titan and she doesn't get mail like we do and she doesn't like speaking outright to the public. He's just manipulating these feelings, and my best guess is that he's either going to use her to get to us or turn her against us; either way, if she does love him, he'll break her heart. I thought she was smarter than this."

"Maybe he was good at hiding it?"

"Why are you defending him?" Robin snapped. Hurt flashed across his friend's face, and guilt came over him. "Star..."

"I think we should let Raven be happy," she said sadly, "and I think that if he truly feels that way for her, than none of us shall be the judge of this."

Robin watched as she joined her friends in the kitchen, leaned back, and closed his eyes to get a few minutes of sleep.

Beast Boy was scarfing down something with tofu that would have made Raven want to through it out the window, if she were here to see it. Cyborg was eating burnt bacon.

"Friend Cyborg?" Starfire asked, eyes wide. "What do you think of this?"

"No comment," the mostly robot teen said, shrugging his shoulders. "Not my place to say anything."

She turned to Beast Boy expectantly. Of course, they had heard her and Robin's conversation.

Beast Boy shrugged, stuffing his face. Once done swallowing, he said, "Robin should chill out. I mean, you saw the tapes, didn't you? She looked sort of mad at fist, but did you see the way she blushed and put up her hood? And I wonder what he looks like; he's obviously shown her his face."

Starfire's brow furrowed. "So Red X and Raven together is a good thing?"

"I wouldn't say they were together, or if it's love, or if it's even good, but both Robin and Raven have points. She should have let us know what was going on with her, because we're here for her, and Robin shouldn't have gone so hard on her, because I could swear I could hear that she was about to cry when she left."

The alien nodded. "Right," she mumbled as Beast Boy continued stuffing his face. All she wanted was happiness among her friends who were her family; she couldn't stand to see them at odds for so long. She only hoped Red X wasn't using Raven; a sad Raven was a moody Rave, but a heartbroken raven was a I'm-Going-To-Kill-You version of Raven.

Robin had listened to their conversation and headed back to his room, fists clenched, jaw set.

They were all wondering the same thing:

Where was Raven now?


	10. When On Gotham Rooftops

Raven wasn't in Jump City. She hadn't been near the Tower since her argument with Robin. Instead, she was in Gotham. She rarely ever went. There was too much crime for ever the Titans alone to handle, which was why they lived in Jump City. It was night out. Snow was beginning to fall again; almost a year had passed since Red X had saved her from freezing to death. She knew that he was right; she should have spoken up, should have told them about her feelings.

She'd been gone for almost four days now. She'd contacted them, apologized, and had declared that she was in need of serious time to think, so her friends left her alone. Everyone but Robin had forgiven her for keeping her secret: he'd said, with clenched fists, "we'll talk when you get back."

Raven didn't want to talk.

Instead, she'd spent her time here, alone, in the cold and snow, on the rooftop of a skyscraper, one of the tallest in the city. And she hadn't had the best of times: she'd cried.

Raven never cried.

Never.

Not once had she in front of her fellow Titans, and she was embarrassed at how long and how many tears had escaped behind her eyes. She was thinking of herself as weak; why couldn't she just suck it up and deal with this?

In the last four days, she had barely eaten anything, she hadn't done anything to sustain herself. If you looked at her, when her head was bent and her hood was up, and if you were able to catch a glimpse of her face of the dim light that the city cast, you would see dark shadows under her eyes, her eyelids drooping, her cheeks stained with tear tracks, and the rest of her even paler than she should be, wrapped up in her cloak. Her fingers trembled, despite how tightly she clenched her fists.

It had taken her four days to figure herself out.

Raven knew that she liked Jason a lot, but she couldn't be too sure about him. Knowing that he was unpredictable, if he decided to drop by and see her like this, he just might laugh at her. Like she was afraid of him doing. She knew Robin could be right: but if so, why go to all that trouble if he just wanted to get to the Titans? He could have just killed her, right?

He began rocking herself gently, her knees tucked under her chin, a cold gust of foul-smelling wind pushing her hood over her eyes. Shivering at the sudden drop of temperature the wind had provided, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly and let more tears fall.

_I must be a wimp._

She didn't even acknowledge the crackling sound behind her and footsteps walking over to her. She ignored it completely, simply wanting to hide. Her powers were weak due to the lack of nutrition, and she was in no mood to fight or argue.

"Raven?"

She stiffened at his voice: how had he found her? She hadn't even told him that she'd left. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, but shook it off, lifting her head so she was looking into brilliant green eyes that could only belong to Jason Todd. He hadn't even bothered to bring his mask with him. Raven briefly wondered why he hadn't because of how many security cameras were in Gotham.

"Raven." He frowned with disapproval as he sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shaking body and pulling her to him, holding her until her violent shivering reduced to shivers. "What's wrong?"

"They know," Raven said, her voice flat.

"Okay," Jason said, "and how'd they take it?"

"You're trying to trick me, aren't you."

His eyes narrowed. "If I was, don't you think I'd let you know?"

"Considering your immaturity, _yes_."

He let go of her, scoffing, and she inched away from him slowly, missing being held. She mentally punched herself. This wasn't how she was supposed to be.

"Do what you think is right." He stood up to leave. Over the year, he'd become accustomed to her personality and her habits: thinking things through, assessing every detail, and sorting through all her problems one by one, bit by bit, was one of them.

Raven was shocked. No protests? No insults?

He turned to teleport, but she grabbed his arm quickly, standing up, almost falling over at the sudden movement, light-headed. _Should've eaten breakfast_, she thought distantly.

"Please."

The word was nothing more than a whisper, something that Jason could have imagined that he'd heard, but when Raven was around, you had to marvel at the things she never said.

Please wasn't on the list of words she used unless she was threatening someone.

Raven never said _please_.

Jason sighed, rolled his eyes, yanking her towards him and covering her mouth with his before she could do anything. He wrapped his arms around her securely, smirking down at her as he realized he was holding up most of her weight. "You should go home," she muttered, stepping away from him.

"And miss out on a chance to kiss you? Never!" she hadn't realized that her hood was down and her cheeks were red, but as her hand went to put it back up, he said, "leave it up. You're cute when you blush."

She scowled at him, wiping her eyes hurriedly.

"You should still go," she said, her violet eyes filled with sorrow.

"I really don't feel like it," he said, grinning.

She smiled up at him, for real. It made his eyes dance with amusement.

"So she _does_ smile!" he laughed as he dodged a weak punch from her.

"Of course I do," she retorted, "you've just never noticed."

"I think I would notice," he said, "if you smiled like that more often."

They stood side by side for a moment, and then they both began laughing hysterically. Raven was crying, too, but mostly she was laughing.

"Laughter is the best medicine," he said, glad that her eyes were void of the emotion they'd held only a moment ago.

"So is Vicodin," she hiccupped, and they both laughed even harder, bending over while clutching their sides.

"How about this?" he straightened up, took her face in his hands, and kissed her.

And kissed her.

And kissed her.


	11. I'm Back - And Guess Who's With Me?

When Raven arrived home, she did not come back alone.

Jason, _not_ Red X, had walked in the front door behind her. At first, the Titans had been too shocked to run to Raven and embrace her. Then, they'd gotten even more surprised when they figured out who the smirking boy was next to her as she stood in the living room.

Robin was the only one who hadn't embraced the sorceress. He stood back aways, watching his enemy closely for any signs of deception. Jason was wondering why he wasn't dead yet and why the Titans weren't trying to make it so he was.

"Friend Raven! You have returned!" Starfire squealed, releasing the other girl from the bone-crushing hug she had suffered form.

"Yeah," Raven mumbled. "Hope you don't mind I brought X with me."

"No bigge, dude," Beat Boy assured them both, "just don't hurt her, and I won't smash you flat. Got it, X?"

Jason nodded. Nothing had been enough to wipe that smirk off his face since they'd stepped foot in the tower.

Cyborg narrowed his eyes as Jason put up his hands. "Hey, I was never gonna steal from you, you know that? Well, I did steal a kiss or two from Raven, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't count."

Raven elbowed him in the gut, and he laughed. "Hey, no bloody noses today, alright?"

Raven glared at him before turning her attention to Robin.

"You do anything that gets within a twenty mile radius of suspicious, and you'll have yourself six feet under," Robin snarled, turning on his heel and storming out of the room.

Jason's smirk faded into a displeased frown.

His intent had never been to hurt Raven at any point; he was pretty sure he liked her too much for it to be called 'liking' anymore. He didn't intend on hurting the other Titans unless they threw the first punch; then he would be happy to oblige.

He sighed and touched Raven's shoulder lightly. "I think I'd better go before Boy Wonder there blows a fuse and decides to decapitate me," he said.

Raven blew her cheeks out but nodded and watched as he turned and headed for door.

"I'll be back," he said over his shoulder.

Raven sighed.

Robin wouldn't approve of him coming back.


	12. How?

"I don't like him."

Raven rolled her eyes at her leader.

"Of course you don't."

"Then why do you like him?"

Raven said without hesitation, even though she almost did hesitate, "I just do."

No longer did she just like him; she was certain that she was _in love _with the guy. It had been almost a year since Red X had been first allowed into the Tower, with her friends knowledge, and they were still dating. Beast Boy and Cyborg had actually become friendly: they played video games occasionally and Red X even tried to explain a few things to Starfire before completely giving up.

Robin had grown tolerant, but he still hated him.

"Do you have to see him tomorrow night?"

"Yes." It was Jason's birthday. Raven had to tell him, against her better judgement. She had originally intended to ask Robin how to say those three words, but now she couldn't. He would probably kick her out of the tower.

She felt slightly alone, but knew she had to ask someone.

"Fine."

Seeing that this conversation was done, Raven turned, shoulders slightly slumped, as she headed towards her room.

_I'm going to tell him._


	13. His Birthday

It was Jason's birthday.

Raven and Jason were walking around Jump City. It was cold out, but not enough to snow. The two were holding hands, sneaking glances at each other the entire time as they stopped in front of a stone fountain in the middle of Jump Rec Park. The water had frozen over, and it was still smooth and perfect.

The sun was setting now, and the day was almost ever, and night was coming on.

Raven let him wrap an arm around her waist as they just stared at the pennies frozen to the bottom of the fountain.

"How much do you think is in there?" she asked him quietly.

"A lot."

She nodded, biting her lip.

Since it was his birthday, she wanted to tell him something, something that had been on her mind for almost a month. Robin had been no help as to how she was going to break it to him, and she'd been to cowardly to ask anyone else.

"I have something to tell you," she mumbled.

"Really? I do, too, but since it's my birthday, I'll let you go first."

Raven and Jason were dressed in civilian clothes. She had on a black hoodie, and slowly put the hood down so he could look into her face.

"I…" she put her hands in her pockets as he took a tiny step away from her, so they were face to face.

"Well?" he asked expectantly, smirking.

"Uh, I…" she was struggling how to say. _Do I just come out and say it? Do I hint it? Do I kiss him? What do I do?_

"Let me figure out how to say it," she snapped, biting her lip. His green eyes widened, and his smirk vanished.

"Raven?" he asked, frowning just a little.

"No, no, give me just one minute," she pleaded, grabbing onto his jacket sleeve. He was caught off guard by this action. She'd never done anything of the sort, ever.

Her mind scrambled, trying to figure it out. Worry took over. _Does he think I'm breaking up with him?_ Raven really hoped not, but if he did, then he would probably leave.

And then she would be truly alone, all over again.

Raven didn't want that.

She wanted Jason, even if he did annoy Robin.

"Raven." Jason took her face in his hands, his eyes boring into hers. She gulped.

"I don't know how to say it," she finally admitted, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. The sorceress could do anything, could beat anything, but she couldn't say the three words that would mean the most to her and their relationship.

"Is it a good thing?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Maybe," she answered nervously. She was never nervous.

While she was trying to get a hold of the words she was too cowardly to say outright, Jason wondered what it could possibly. Usually she was straightforward on everything, but this? This was very important, so he waited patiently.

Jason really wanted to kiss her though. It was really tempting, but he knew he'd cut off her concentration. But it was just so tempting.

However, he waited.

_Please don't slam me into the fountain, please don't slam me into the fountain,_

Raven gulped, then cleared her throat.

"Jason?"

It came out only as a whisper.

He leaned closer to her. "Yes?" This was actually amusing him. What could she possibly want to say? She had that look in her eyes, the one that told him she was trying to word something as perfectly as she could.

"I… I think I…"

She shook her head. "No, I don't think; I know."

Taking a few deep gulps of sharp, chilly air, she met his brilliant, smirking green eyes and said, "Jason Peter Todd, I am in love with you."

Jason's jaw almost dropped. Almost.

_Thank you, thank you, thank you._

Smirking at the lost look on her face, he brought his lips down on her own, and he kissed her for a good few, long moments before pulling away, their foreheads touching.

"So…?" Raven was at a loss for words.

"That," he said, holding her close, "was probably the best birthday present ever."

He heard her sigh in relief into his shoulder and his body shook with laughter.

"I love you too," he said, "I was worried you were going to give me a few broken bones."

"Only if you make me mad," she mumbled, relaxing in his embrace.

They pulled away slightly. "Want to get a pizza?" he asked her, smirking still.

Her cheeks were pink, her eyes were alight, and she was smiling a real, full smile.

"Of course," Raven said as they walked away from the park.


	14. He Sent Him Away

Jason was sitting in the living room in the Tower, stretched out lazily. Beast Boy was next to him, trying to race Cyborg. They kept yelling at each other, but it hardly bothered him anymore. He was glad that they trusted him, but Robin still didn't.

Starfire came into the room and smiled at Jason. He nodded at her and closed his eyes. Today had been a long day. He'd stolen a giant ruby, and had gotten away with it. He and the Titans had come to an understanding: they would go their normal ways when he was out stealing something, but they weren't allowed to fight when someone invited him over or something.

When he heard the soft sound of a portal open, he opened his eyes to see an exhausted Raven looking down at him. Grinning as he sat up, he said, "you look like you've had boat loads of fun today."

"I have," she muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling him off the couch. She was headed for the roof. When he noticed she was limping a little, he frowned.

"Something happen?"

"Dr. Light decided to make a guest appearance," she muttered darkly, climbing the stairs and opening the door, and they were outside.

They always seemed to be outside.

"And?"

"He managed to throw me against a wall."

"And?"

Raven smiled at him as she sat down on the edge. Jason sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer. Glancing down, he saw that she was blushing. He smirked. "I made him fly into a brick wall."

"Nice job."

She sighed, relaxing. "You look pretty tired, too, Jason."

"You throwing me thirty feet into the air and landing in a pile of cement chunks really tires you out," he said.

Scoffing, she said, "I didn't do that much damage."

"Maybe not, but I bet I could sleep for a week."

"Me, too."

Raven sighed, leaning into him. Yawning, she felt her eyelids drooping. "Jason..."

After a few moments, Jason realized she was sleeping.

In his arms.

He grinned and just sat there for the longest of times, glad that Robin hadn't kicked his butt yet. It was going to happen, sooner or later, because every time Robin saw them together, he just got a littler angrier each and every time.

He sighed, putting Raven's hood up as she slept.

Well, Robin wouldn't kick his butt. He could _try_, but he'd probably fail.

Probably.

Jason turned his head to see Robin staring at him. He only rolled his eyes at the Titan. "She's sleeping," he said quietly. "How about we fight tomorrow?"

"I want you out."

"Tell Raven that."

"I'm the leader of this team, and I say you have to get out. Please, don't make me wake her up, X."

Jason grimace, and looked down at Raven, and then at Jason, and back to the sleeping girl in his hold. He shook his head slightly, but stood up with her in his arms. He walked over calmly to Robin and handed her off to him.

"For Raven, I'm not giving you any broken bones," Robin told him.

"And for her, I won't try to murder you in your sleep. And what are you going to tell her when she wakes up?"

"The truth."

Jason glared at him, pulling on his mask. "Well, I'll be looking forward to seeing her again," he said, gesturing to Raven. He turned away, not wanting to upset her.

That, apparently, was Robin's job.

"I will be seeing you again," he whispered to her, and teleported away.


	15. You Did What?

Robin was sitting in front of the computer, a glare set in stone upon his face.

Raven had shouted, screamed, but hadn't cried when she had found out that he had forbidden Red X from coming into the Tower. Really, this meant that he was trying to get Raven to stay away from Red X.

Why was he so angry with Jason?

Because he was his brother. Jason was supposed to be dead. He'd been training to be the next Robin, but had turned into a criminal. And he acted like he didn't know his adoptive brother at all.

The Titans didn't know this, and he didn't want them to.

Just the thought of Raven actually being in love with someone like X, someone like his brother enraged him. He still didn't believe that he was good enough for his teammate. And why would he love her?

The rest of the team had accepted this change, but not all that happily. They'd grown attatched the to the villain, and it was obvious that Raven loved him with all her heart.

Red X hadn't been seen for almost three months. Raven was getting more depressd as the days dragged on; she rarely ate, she slept all day, and refused to go on missions. Beast Boy had even wanted to invite Red X over to race him in a video game.

Why couldn't they see that X was no good, that his brother was beyond helping.

Robin wondered if Jason would change, for Raven, who'd never loved anyone in the way that she loved him. Probably not.

But what did he know? He only knew enough about his brother to form solid opinions.

But his thoughts could never repair the damage he'd caused. Raven didn't speak much; sometimes at night, she'd go up on the roof. He felt bad about her feelings being hurt, but it was for the good of the team.

Wasn't it?


	16. Stay With Me?

Raven glared at Robin. They were alone, down by the computers.

"I want to see him," she hissed, her arms crossed over her chest. It had been six months. Six months without any contact from Jason. Raven didn't know what to do: all she wanted to do was see him.

Maybe he hadn't loved her after all; maybe that was why he hadn't come by. He wasn't one to usually listen to Robin, especially when it came to kissing her right in front of him or stealing her for a day or two.

"I'm not allowing you to," Robin said.

Raven almost screamed with frustration. "Fine, then!" she stormed off and flew up to the roof, tears streaming from her eyes as she flew away, far away from Jump City.

So if Robin wouldn't allow her to see him, and if Jason didn't want to see her, then fine.

Fine!

Sobs began shaking her body as she opened a portal, flew through it, and found herself in Gotham. She landed on the roof of the tallest building she could find and collapsed, bending her head down into her knees as she began beating her fists into the roof, her toes pointed downward as her body shook.

_Am I alone now?_

_I'm alone again._

_Alone._

_...alone..._

Never again would she feel the way that Jason had made her feel.

Loved, as he had loved her.

Cared, as he had cared for her.

Raven kept crying, eventually she wrapped her arms around her stomach and just held herself.

"You really make me want to kiss you right now, but I'm afraid that you might kill me."

Raven choked on a sob as she sat up and turned her head and gave another cry as he wrapped his arms securely around her.

"You... I thought," she said, trying her best to wipe away her tears.

Jason sighed, sitting on the ground, pulling her close so he could rock her back and forth. "I never left."

"You did," she accused, growing limp in his arms, it's been six months!"

"I figured my brother knew best," he said, "I figured wrong."

Raven stiffened for only a moment, and then went limp again: it felt so right to eve with him again.

"No wonder you two hate each other."

His laughter made her smile as his body vibrated with it. His laughter was warm and pure and comforting.

"I was going to see you sooner," he murmured, "but he kept me away. Every time."

Raven buried her head into his chest. She wanted to hate Robin, but couldn't. She understood. Robin would be Robin, always.

"I couldn't stay away from you, forever," he said, barely whispering, "but it's like math: it was way too hard."

Raven nearly sobbed again at hearing this.

"Obviously, you still hate me for staying away."

She sat up and took his face in her hands. "If I hated you, I wouldn't have done this." She pressed her lips to his softly for only a second before sinking back into Jason's embrace. She was so warm now, so peaceful...

"Right," she knew he was grinning.

"I love you, Raven," he said, again, barely above a whisper.

"I love you, too, Jason." She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to fall asleep while he held her.

As Jason set her in his lap so she could sleep more comfortably with her head against his shoulder, he vowed not to leave again.

And why would he?

He loved her to death.


	17. Don't Say Anything

"So, Robin's your brother?" Beast Boy asked Jason.

"Yeah."

"That's so weird," Cyborg said. "Hey, Robin! How come you never told us that this guy was your flesh and blood?"

Robin stepped around the corner, glaring at the Titans in the living room in front of the TV. "He isn't my flesh and blood; he messed up."

Raven sighed. "I can see the reason in your actions, Robin, but you should know that we're okay with it. How about you sit with us?"

Everyone held their breath as Robin stayed still for the briefest of moments before he came over and sat down next to Starfire. He looked very unhappy.

"Was that so hard?" Jason asked, smirking. The leader of the Titans still had his mask on.

"Yes," Robin said.

"Right, so, how is it that you found Raven again?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven glared at Jason and said, "say one word, and you're dead."

"Okay, then, I won't say anything. When you're around, at least."

"You're lucky that I don't have a dictionary with me," she said, sipping her herbal tea.

"I am?"

"You and Beast Boy both."

Cyborg laughed.

Starifire smiled when she saw Robin relax just a little.

For Robin, this was awkward. The brothers weren't speaking, but that seemed to suit them fine.

Maybe they'd get along some day, but for now, he wasn't going to talk to the thief much.

"So you've seen Raven smile?" Cy asked.

"Yup," Jason smirked, seeing Raven blush.

"What's it like?" Beast Boy asked, and they all burst out laughing.

This was turning out to be a great day so far.

_Maybe we won't kill each other,_ Jason thought idly, looking at Robin out of the corner of his eye. _Well, maybe today we won't._


	18. Rooftops and Halloween

Another year had passed by.

Everyone was happy, everyone was getting along, and Robin had finally decided to be civil with his brother.

On Halloween, the Titans were spread out all over the city, saying hello to fans and getting candy thrown at them.

Raven was with Jason, once again on the roof of the Tower.

He was just holding her, and she was just dozing off in his arms. He was chewing some candy he'd stolen noisily, and knew that it was preventing her from falling fully asleep.

"Stop it," she finally mumbled against his shoulder.

He smirked. "What, stop chewing?"

"Chewing so loud," she clarified, shifting slightly as a cold breeze gusted past the two.

"Well, how else am I supposed to chew?"

"Quietly."

"And what if I don't?"

Raven merely smiled. "Remember what I said, one of the first times you came up here?"

"Depends which time it was."

"The one where I said something about many floors of glass and concrete."

"Oh, that. What about it?"

"That just might happen."

Jason chuckled. "I thought you moved past the 'kill him, kill him not' faze."

"I did."

"You still sound like you want to kill me, though."

"Only because you're chewing so loud."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Think you can live with that for just a little while longer though?"

Raven nodded. "I think I can manage that."


	19. Stuck At Home

Raven was sitting in the living room. Again.

And Jason was out. Again.

The rest of the Titans were out fighting Dr. Light, or was it someone else? Raven really didn't know, or care. She'd been injured in her last fight, and Cyborg and Beast Boy had threatened her with merciless pranks and bothering if she didn't stay at the Tower and rest.

As much as Raven wanted to come, her tibia had been smashed, because Robin had _insisted_ that she be the one to try to stop a building from crumbling over. And then she'd gotten hit with something by some lame kid and then, losing her concentration, she'd been crushed.

Now her leg was in a cast, although she was using her powers to heal it. By tonight, it would be healed fully, but Starfire had managed to get the cast on. How, Raven had no idea.

She heard the door swish **(A/N: is that even the right word?) **and she looked up from the book in her lap and smiled as Jason walked in, taking off his Red X mask and tossing it on the couch next to her as he sat down, stretching.

Raven only sighed. "What did you steal this time?" she asked him.

He grinned at her. "If I told you it would ruin the surprise."

Groaning, she muttered, "as if you stealing is really a surprise."

Smirking now, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "But it's no fun if you know. You'll just tell your friends and then I just get to set around while Robin glares at me."

"Well, that's because you're a criminal."

"And you're dating me."

"Yup."

His smirk grew, and, taking her face in his hands, he kissed her lips, and stood up, leaving her blushing. "I still do that you, huh?" she scowled at him in response, and he laughed.

"Go away!" she said, but a smile couldn't be hidden today.

"You know, I'm glad I came back from the robbery early."

Suspicious, Raven raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because I get to spend the rest of the afternoon with you."

"You sound like you're in love," she said.

"I am," he told her, his smirk growing. He headed for the kitchen.

She smiled after him.

She loved him too.


	20. Thanksgiving

The Titans sat around the dinner table, glancing around at each other with smirks on their faces as they bowed their heads. Their smirks faded, though, when Jason began saying Grace. Raven had no idea why he would ever offer to say Grace, and neither did anyone else, but hey - if he was willing, then Robin was open to it.

They held hands, despite Raven's distress for the close contact, except for Jason's hand. Cyborg and Beast Boy had tried explaining to Starfire what Thanksgiving was all about, and she was still asking why the turkey was supposed to make her sleepy, in case they thought that their food had been drugged (Robin was getting paranoid with each passing day). The food on the table smelled so good that even Raven wanted to dig in right away at the small, respectable servings of mashed potatoes, gravey, turkey, stuffing, and a roll that sat on her plat, opposed to the huge helpings that everyone else had helped themselves too.

"...and I'm thankful that the Titans don't kick my butt every day..." Jason smiled as he finished saying Grace, "...and finally, I am thankful that Raven didn't murder me the first time I made her blush. Amen."

With that, the team dug in.

Raven watched with masked amusement as laughter began filling the Tower as the friends conversed happily amongst one another. Everyone seemed content with their meal and their company. Even Beast Boy was enjoying his tofu meal. About half an hour into dinner, it began to snow, making BB roll his eyes. Standing up, he said, "I think I'd better go see Terra. Y'know..." everyone gave him their cheesiest smiles and he smiled right back, more cheery as he left the Tower with the intent of seeing his friend gone enemy gone friend again soon, to let her know, even if she had turned herself into stone, that he had been thankful for their friendship.

Eventually, Starfire and Robin excused themselves at the same time to go on the roof to watch the snowfall and Cyborg had left after six helpings of food. All that remained were Jason and Raven.

Jason scooted closer to Raven as soon as he was sure that everyone else was gone and stayed gone, helping himself to some more mashed potatoes while Raven sipped her herbal tea.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Jason finally said, "you know, I really don't think they're up on the roof _watching the snow fall._" Snorting, he added, "I'm pretty sure that Bird Brain's got his eyes somewhere else."

Raven gave him a look that made him roll his eyes.

"What?" he said, smirking, "it's just a guess!"

"I really don't think that was a guess, Jason," Raven said, staring out the window as the snow covered Jump, the falling flakes blending with the winking lights from the city. "How much are you going to eat?"

Stuffing his mouth full, she managed to understand, "I'm gonna eat till I fall asleep."

"What a great way to spend your holiday," she muttered, setting her now empty tea up down on the stained table cloth, stretching in her chair.

"Well, how would _you_ spend _your_ holiday, o wise one?" he asked, an eyebrow disappearing into his black hair.

"Reading."

He snorted. "That's boring. I have a better idea."

Raven was about to protest this, but when his lips met hers, her argument was lost. That seemed to happen a lot, whenever he kissed her. He pulled away, grinning as her cheeks tinted pink.

"See? That's way more fun than reading, isn't it?"

Raven smiled at him, shaking her head slightly. "Happy Thanksgiving, Jason."


	21. Christmas

Jason was very nervous. Robin sat next to him on the couch, reluctantly in support of the other young man. The others waited quietly, grins on their faces, Beast Boy having the biggest grin of all. He had helped the thief pick out the gift - or, rather, many gifts stuffed into one huge, bright box.

Jason wasn't very comfortable picking out gifts, especially for Raven. Although he'd had a good idea of what to get her, he didn't want to lose his head over a gift she might openly detest. And she had told him, months ago, that no gifts were necessary, which was a load of crap to Jason, mainly because he knew _everyone_ loved gifts, and he would not allow her to be the Grinch this year, as everyone called her.

Raven sat across from them, in the air, holding the carefully wrapped box Jason had set under the heavily decorated, annoyingly bright Christmas tree.

Raven was overly suspicious, and let it show, but secretly she was pleased. It had been overly thoughtful of Jason to get her anything at all, especially when the rest of the team knew not to get her anything... with her knowing, that is.

Smiling faintly, she lifted the large gift into the air and slowly undid it simply by looking at it, trying to ignore the smirk on Jason's face and nervous glint in his eye as the wrapping came off and three beautiful, thick volumes were floating before her. The smile on her face was a sight to behold as she examined the first-edition books. It amazed her that he would get her something like that - and she he'd had some assistance with picking out the gifts.

She turned her grateful smile to Jason and beamed, walking over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek and murmuring "Merry Christmas" before turning and heading to her room, the books following her, leaving a very amused team in her wake.

Jason couldn't help the smirk that took over the nervousness when the others let their shock be known that she hadn't refused the gift.

"Duuuuuuuude," Beast Boy grinned and high-fived the thief. "You're lucky, X."

Jason nodded, grinning.

Yes, he certainly was.


	22. New Year's

Raven and Jason stood on the roof top of the Tower, waiting for the New Year to finally begin.

"54, 53, 52..." Jason counted, an arm around the sorceress' waist as he continued to annoy her.

"This is how you choose to spend the last minute of the year," she muttered, rolling her eyes, wondering if bringing a book to the roof would have been better than not, because hitting him on the head with it seemed like a good idea at the moment.

"45, 44, 43... no, Rae, I've got a plan." He winked at her, and she glared suspiciously at him as a smirk appeared on his face as he continued to count down.

"10, 9..." Jason stepped away and in front of Raven, his smirk worth more than the world was.

_3..._

_2..._

Jason, before the fireworks went off and the year was over, grabbed Raven and slammed his lips into hers, and not one second later, a large explosion of lights could be seen in his peripheral vision, but he found that he didn't necessarily care.

A few moments later, he pulled away, his smirk widening impossibly at the blush on her cheeks. "_That_ is what I chose to do at the beginning and end of the year," he laughed as she opened her mouth to say something, but shut it and smiled instead.

"Happy New Years, X," she murmured.

"Happy New Years, Raven."


	23. Valentine's Day

Jason and Raven sat on the roof the Tower. It was snowing. And what were they doing?

Stuffed full of chocolate, mushy thoughts, and a bubbling happiness that both warmed them to the bone, they were playing _tag_. The rest of the team was doing their own thing, outside the tower. Starfire and Robin were on a date, BB and Cy were probably at Aqualad's place playing games, and here they were.

Raven was flying through the air, an uncharacteristically bubbly expression upon her face which lit up her eyes as Jason dashed around, using his belt to slip away from her each time her fingers brushed his arm.

On the ground below them as the night went on, and the snow continued to fall in the cold of the February night, were an empty box of chocolates, and a few cards. They hadn't done anything out of the ordinary - but acting like children was - and this was probably the best Valentine's day either of them had ever had.

And for once, Raven was glad for the mushy holiday.

Who else would she possibly spend it with?


	24. Video Games - Me? In Which Universe?

"I can probably teach you how to play."

"Who says I would want to, X?"

Raven could hear the frown in Jason's as he spoke; she did not look up from the book in her lap, her eyes reading each word carefully - leisurely - but she also managed to pay attention to him.

"Rae, c'mon - you promised you would."

Raven stiffened.

Jason smirked at her, and this time she did look up. Her brow furrowed a tiny bit as she struggled to remember when she had made such a promise was usually reserved for Beast Boy to try to get her to make.

"Last week," he prompted, scooting closer to her on the couch.

Oh.

Raven frowned. "No."

An arm was slung over her shoulders and his head was against her shoulder.

"Don't make me beg, Rae," he chuckled.

Raven scowled and pushed him away.

This was one of those days when proximity was everything. It didn't occur to him that even though they were dating she still wanted space - from everyone. Obviously, he ignored this.

And bothered her anyway.

"C'mooooon, RaeRae - "

"Don't you dare call me that," she muttered, snapping her book shut and glaring at him.

"Then play with me."

Her eyes narrowed as he reached behind him and suddenly there was a controller being waved in her face.

The urge to snap it in half was evident.

The urge to break it over his head was even more evident and held a lot more temptation.

But she didn't.

Raven snatched the controller away from him, her eyes dull with dread as Jason's smirk widened and he kissed her cheek.

This wasn't going to be fun.


	25. He's An Idiot

**A/N: Hola! I'm here with another one-shot. ****Please review!**

* * *

"You're an idiot, X."

"Isn't that why you love me, Rae?"

A scoff met his ears.

Jason grinned at her.

"But you still like me anyways."

Raven sighed and looked up from her book, glaring daggers at him - which had no affect whatsoever. They were sitting in her room; he was on her bed, and she was in a meditative position, a book in her lap, but she had been dragged out of its contents by the thief who was smirking at her like he knew something she didn't.

He probably did.

"Obviously."

Jason chuckled. "So why am I an idiot this time, Rae?"

"You won't find something else to do while I read."

"That's all you do."

"I played video games with you yesterday. And now I'm reading it."

"That was yesterday," Jason said, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest. "Today is today. So it doesn't count."

"I can always throw you out," she said, her tone bored, but he laughed anyways despite her silent threat.

She knew that didn't work on him - even if she did do just that, he'd just walk back in, no matter what.

"You can go ahead and try," he challenged.

She rolled her eyes and returned them to her book.

"So that's why am an idiot?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"You won't be if you shut up," she said without looking at him.

Raven should have guessed his next words as she sighed soundlessly, closing her book - finally - and looking at him, his smirk crooked and full of mischief.

"And where's the fun in that?"


	26. What Do You Mean, No More Thieving?

**A/N: Thank you for reading :) Please review!**

* * *

Jason glared at Robin.

"What do you mean, _'no more thieving_'?" Jason asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Respecting Raven's wishes means respecting the team's wishes - "

"_You_ don't make up all five people, Boy Blunder," Jason said, leaning back on the couch, his eyebrows disappearing into his hair as he looked expectantly at the hero who was glaring down at him from his spot. "I'm sure your buddies don't mind - I have appearances to keep up, don't I?"

"I thought you were done thieving," Robin said.

"I was - for a while. Raven pretty much said as long as I don't aggravate her on a regular basis, I can attempt to cause some problems - "

"Raven would never say that!"

"I did."

Both heads turned to see Raven standing a ways away from them, near the hall that led to their rooms.

"Raven, why - "

"It's what he does." She turned on her heel and left one boy gawking, the other smirking.

"Well, looks like your opinion doesn't matter," Jason said, jumping to his feet.

"I'm off to steal things and impress of my girlfriend. See you later, Boy Blunder!"


	27. I Thought It Was Obvious

"Raven?"

Raven looked up from the book in her lap to see Robin standing in her doorway. She frowned. She hadn't invited him inside. What did he want?

"Ja - Red X is back," he said, his expression dark.

Raven merely blinked.

"Raven," he said again, his eyes narrowing, "he's stealing again! We need to get going!"

Did she have to? She really didn't want to. Sure, Jason had to keep up appearances, but it didn't mean that they actually had to go off and fight him. She wasn't in the mood for him to bother Robin openly - publicly - and she wasn't in the mood for fighting.

All she wanted was to go back to her reading. Even Jason had grasped the idea that every once in a while she wanted to lock her door and read for half a day. Then she would come out and sit with him after another few hours of meditation. It was fair enough - she didn't do it every day. Beast Boy, though, still bothered her like crazy.

It was like he would never get it.

It was likely that the changeling wouldn't.

Raven stood up, slowly.

"Where is he?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Jump City's Historical Museum."

Raven almost blanched.

Jason didn't like that place. He said it was too old and dusty for his liking - as pricey as some of the museum's items were, he wasn't really in to historical "crap" as he so kindly put it. Jewels, money, and technology was what he liked stealing best.

**By Azar**. She couldn't believe she actually _knew_ that about Jason.

"We don't know what he' up to - "

"Robin."

"What?" he gave her an impatient look.

Raven almost rolled her eyes.

"We know exactly what he's doing."

"And what's that? Did he tell you?"

"No. He's doing his job."

Raven frowned disapprovingly as Robin turned on his heel and stalked away from her room. Reluctantly, she put down her book and stood, following.

Wasn't it obvious what a thief's job was?

Apparently not.

* * *

**At the moment, I am low on ideas. Suggestions are welcomed :)**


	28. Me? Admit That You Impressed Me? Never!

**Posted this early.**

**Oh well.**

* * *

"You're insane."

"How am I insane, Rae?"

"You tried stealing one of the most valuable art pieces in the world - "

"I wasn't actually gonna **steal it**, Raven."

"Then what _were_ you going to do, Jason?"

"I hadn't really planned that part out yet. See - "

"You're still insane."

"You really suck at insulting me."

Raven said nothing, crossing her arms over his chest as she glared at him.

Jason reached out to pinch her cheek, completely oblivious to the police sirens in the distance that were getting closer by the minute. Raven tried to swat his hand away, sensing his mischievousness bubbling underneath all his other emotions. But of course it didn't work. He still pinched her cheek anyway.

He laughed at her, at the slight color flooding her cheeks.

"Raven," he said, "it's my job to steal - and to impress you."

"You can't impress me by stealing, X."

"I believe I can - and I did - Rae."

Raven glared.

Jason snorted.

"I totally did. You just don't want to admit it."

She felt an overwhelming feeling of smugness radiating off of his form and wanted to dump him in another dimension. No one would miss him...

She shook her head slightly

As tempting as it was, she decided not to.

She liked having him around.

"I still can't believe you tried to steal that - "

"It was just some statue of a half-naked dude - "

"Jason," she gave him a look.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"

"You're - "

"Insane. Yeah. I figured... but I still impressed you."

Raven said nothing.

"Admit it."

The sirens were getting closer.

"C'mon Rae - "

The look she gave him made him burst into laughter.

If he was going to get caught standing around talking to her on the rooftop of an art museum in the middle of the night, then it was fine by him.

He'd just escape and go back to the tower.

As usual.

* * *

**I'm gonna try to make these more separate - my intention was for all of these to be separate yet linked... bleh. Thanks for reading**


	29. Yes, Yes, Yes Final Chapter

**You're welcome to ****guess what happened in this final one.**

* * *

"Raven?"

A raised eyebrow answered him. He'd interrupted her reading.

Not good.

But this was important.

"We've been dating for a while..."

Jason had never been uncomfortable with this sort of thing. But then again, he's never done _this_ before, either.

So he cut himself some slack, and went on with it.

Rae might kill him for it, but he had to ask her.

He had to.

"Will you... uh..."

He doesn't really know how to ask her. He's never asked anyone this before - not one.

That's because she's special, though. She's his.

His bird.

_His._

"Jason."

He snapped to attention. His heart was beating loudly in his ears.

He was actually _scared _of what she was going to say to him.

He had to.

"Yes, Jason. The answer to your question is yes."

Jason actually sighed in relief.

She needed to always be _his_.

And she'd said yes.

As easily as if she'd agreed to throw Beast Boy across the room for bothering her while she was reading in her room, just like he was doing now.

Except he could tell he wasn't bothering her.

And she hadn't kicked him out yet.

Good sign.

Raven looked up at him, eyebrows raised. With a small jerk of her head, she said, "you can sit with me. But no talking. You interrupted my reading."

Jason grinned.

She'd said _yes_.

And she hadn't done _anything_.

Hadn't killed him yet.

This was a good sign.

A really good sign.


End file.
